WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org – What’s The Difference?

Continuing our topics on WordPress, today I will discuss the difference between wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org. Which is better among the duo and which one is right for you?

I am sure that after considering all options; now you must be convinced that among all blogging platforms, WordPress is the best choice to start a new blog. And thereafter, you might be surprised to realize that WordPress comes with 2 names – WordPress.com or WordPress.org. So what exactly is the difference between the duo? What are their similarities and which one you should choose for your blog.

WordPress.org

As we know WordPress is an open source, self-hosted blogging platform. And wordpress.org is the website from where you can download this software for free. Once you download the software, you need to install the same on your hosting provider. In other words, with wordpress.org, you also need to hunt for a hosting provider company capable of hosting a WordPress site.

You also need to buy a domain name for your new blog eg: your-domain-name.org. Although some hosts do offer a free domain with hosting sign up. Then you also need to install WordPress on your hosting account. In brief, to run your blog using wordpress.org; you need to:

1). Download WordPress Software from wordpress.org website.
2). Buy a domain name together with a hosting account.
3). Install the WordPress software to your hosting account.

WordPress.org Drawbacks

1). You need to buy a domain name and hosting account by searching and finding yourself. You can use any hosting provider of your choice.
2). You need to take care of backup by yourself. However, free plugins are also available to automate your tasks.
3). You should have working knowledge with FTP, SQL Databases, editing and configuring server files.

WordPress.org Benefits:

1). You have full control of your new blog. You can modify theme files, change the HTML or CSS markup as you like.
2). You can run your advertisements and make money from the traffic. You are free to use any advertising or affiliate program from Google Adsense to Yahoo publisher or may be any other.
3). You can install any theme or plugins. This is the most important feature of wordpress.org providing you the ability to install any WordPress theme and plugin to extend site capabilities.

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is like a temple for you if you don’t know anything about domains, web hosting, servers, FTP, Database or Backups. WordPress.com will ensure that you never stuck even if you don’t have any knowledge about its background workings. It is recommended to anyone who want to start blogging as a hobby. You can sign up for a free account and start blogging within a minute. You don’t even need to buy a domain name if the subdomain is not a significant issue for you. In brief; to run your blog with WordPress.com, you need to:

1). Sign up for a Free account.
2). Buy domain if you want to.

WordPress.com Drawbacks:

1). Only limited WordPress themes are available in wordpress.com theme store. Not only limited themes are there but you are even prohibited from changing those theme files.
2). You cannot install plugins to extend the capabilities of your blog. Plugins can extensively extend the capabilities of your blog. There are so many useful plugins available like smash.it, contact form, w3 total cache that can increase your site’s performance but this feature is not available with wordpress.com.
3). Your site runs with the sub domain like: your-name.wordpress.com. Although you can buy a domain for an extra $12 per year.
4). WordPress.com sometimes shows ads on your blog and you cannot put your ads. However, you can sign up for wordads but this is only available for blogs with huge traffic.

WordPress.com Benefits:

1). Easy to start. All you need to do is SignUp and start creating content for your new blog. Your new site will be up and running in under a minute.
2). Hosting is free. You don’t need to spend extra bucks on purchasing a hosting account that is obvious to purchase with wordpress.org
3). No need to take care of backups or security. All these things are being taken care by WordPress.com team.

Third alternative

Luckily; these days all the major website hosting companies offer one-click installation process to install WordPress thus eliminating the need to upload files or create a database. What I mean is; you have to visit neither wordpress.com nor wordpress.org. All you need to do is select a good hosting provider, buy hosting and a domain name.

It is easier and gives you all the flexibility to manage and customize your WordPress website. And, therefore, is the most recommended approach for everyone.

Benefits

1). FTP, Database, Server knowledge is not much required. Even if you don’t know anything about them; you can still manage to control your blog with a few clicks.
2). You can customize your design, change your codes, install free themes and plugins.
3). Run ads to monetize your blog. You are free to sign up and add any ad code to your site.